Re-evaluating Plans

Today I re-evaluated my project list and decided to change some things around, mainly because I am realizing that I have skirts, I have dresses, I have pants, and I have jackets, but I have very few shirts. Just plain shirts.

I have also decided to not forge ahead on Butterick 5320, mainly because the reviews on the dress so far have mentioned that the collar is not ruffled so much as just pouffy. And "large pouffy bright pink collar" is the quickest path to "fashion don't" for me. So, the fuchsia fabric will be repurposed as a shirt, or even two shirts, since I have plenty of it.

To start, I wanted to make a casual shirt that I could just throw on and go for summer. I really loved the look of BWOF-04-2009-122, but as with a lot of BWOF shirts it was extremely low cut. It also appeared to be very short, and the last thing that I needed was to flash my spare tire at anyone.


So, I substituted another pattern. I had recently made a maxi dress from Simplicity 2642, which has a similar shape but the front bodice overlaps rather than being cut down to the empire line.


So, I made the top as instructed, but cut an alternate skirt for it at a length of just 15 inches. I used cotton gauze, same as the BWOF top, but in an unbleached cotton:


To dress it up a bit, I added a length of crocheted trim from my stash. I had just enough left for the neckline:


I need to toss the shirt in the wash so that that skirt returns to it's more crinkled state. When using cotton gauze, it is important to not really press it. Rather than pushing the iron across the fabric, be sure to just press it down and lift it to move onto the next area. Otherwise you will iron out all the natural crinkles.

I also spent some time going through my stash, determining what my needs were and what could stand to be sewn.

I certainly don't need any fabric for pants. I have a ridiculous amount on hand. Here is "the good stuff," starting at the left with an RPL from Gorgeous Fabrics, a wool herringbone, and two wool suitings:


Here is some of the lower-end stuff, two twills and two pinstriped poly suitings:


And finally, a number of pants-weight materials, including the white pique that I want to work on once I get my final fit issues worked out:


I also have a number of fabrics that would be suitable for shirts, most are stretch sateens:


I would like to make at least one into BWOF 04-2009-110:

And finally, I have a stack of charmeuse that will make some nice tunics:


I think that the zebra print will make up nicely as McCall 5708, which is a Hillary Duff pattern, but no one needs to know that, do they?


Fortunately the niece and nephew are camping with their grandparents through next weekend, so I should be able to get some sewing for myself in for a change!